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... seven imams (the seventh was named Ismail)
• Afghanistan, India, Pakistan. Communities in
East and South Africa.
• Zaydis (Fivers) mostly found in Yemen. Reject
the concepts of the imams’ infallibility and of
a “hidden imam.”
...

... most influential religions. His guidance and inspiration have led his people to create
the most powerful empire in Southwest Asia and build a religious movement that will
influence history for thousands of years.
It is now the year 632, and Muhammad has died. Unfortunately, he never told anyone
who ...

... occultation and would return as the Mahdi.
They set up armed camps for their followers
in Syria, Southern Iraq and Algeria. All
swore allegiance to the awaited imam.
Prophets only gave the external part of the
religion - each one had an ‘Inheritor’ who
told the inner meaning of the faith (Jesus’
was ...

... Sects of Islam
Part 1- Major Types of Islam
1. Sunni. The Sunni are so called because they believe that only the Sunna (Hadith) and the
Qur’an are authoritative for Islam. They accept Qur'anic Law--the "orthodox" foundations of
Qur'an and Hadith and the Shari'a based on them. They accept no line of ...

... their rule, and the splitting of the Shiite sect into a number of subbranches as different Shiites rallied around different descendents of the
prophet, each recognizing their own as the righteous inheritor of the
faith, and the others as imposters. So it is that the Shiite sect split into
Twelver an ...

... Ismail died several years before his father, and according to the Ismailis, the imamate passed to
Ismail’s son, Muhammad ibn Ismail, the seventh Imam, who was believed to be the expected
Mahdi, whose advent was prophesised by Ja’far. Ismailis, also known as ‘Seveners’, only
believe in the sanctity o ...

... and Shiite?
What is the role of the Imam in Shiite belief? Who is the “Hidden Imam” and what is
his role in Shiite life? In which country is the Hidden Imam’s influence believed to be
strongest.
To which Arabian tribe did Muhammad belong?
Who were the Ummayads and Abbasids and where did each establi ...

... were to remain an often-persecuted minority throughout the era of the Caliphate.
Shia doctrine is based on an esoteric interpretation of Islam established by the “imams,”
religious leaders who were descendants of Muhammad and whom the Shia consider to be the
sole interpreters of Islamic theology. In ...

... successor, instead of his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Sunnis are so named because they believe themselves to follow the sunnah or
"custom" of the Prophet. Shi'ites are those Muslims who followed Ali, the closest relative of Muhammad, as Muhammad's successor.
(Sufi Islam is not exactly a sect, but ...

... Yazid I – the second Umayyad Caliph -- attacked Husayn
at Karbila, Iraq at midday on Friday, the tenth of
Muharram. The tragic circumstances of Husayn's
martyrdom have become the most passionately
commemorated event in all of Shi'ah Islam.
...

... trader later becoming a religious, political, and military leader
Muslims do not view Muhammad as the creator of Islam, but instead regard
him as the last messenger of God, through which the Qur'an was revealed
Muslims view Muhammad as the restorer of the original, uncorrupted
monotheistic faith of ...

... Islam. When Muhammad died, he left no clear line of succession,
and disagreements later broke out about who should be the caliph,
or leader of Islam. An especially contentious argument surrounded
the legacy of the fourth caliph, Ali, who was Muhammad's son-inlaw. After Ali was assassinated, the Umay ...

... most influential religions. His guidance and inspiration have led his people to create
the most powerful empire in Southwest Asia and build a religious movement that will
influence history for thousands of years.
It is now the year 632, and Muhammad has died. Unfortunately, he never told anyone
who ...

... Mujtahid Theologian and legal expert
who possesses the ijtihad (the right of
independent interpretation of religious
and legal matters). In Shiism, the
mujtahid is a representative of the
most influential circles of the upper
Shiite clergy (called mojtahed in
...